Ed O'Brien

Mainly interested in military technology, global security and education.

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@EducationNotTax @bphillipsonMP @bphillipsonMP was lucky enough to be able to thrive in a mainstream educational environment and can’t seem to comprehend that any child could possibly need anything different. Her treatment of SEN kids (in state and independent) indicates she may not even believe SEN is real.

[Education Not Taxation @EducationNotTax]

Take note @bphillipsonMP. For some children, state schools with their larger class sizes are not the answer. That’s why some parents choose independent schools—schools that can meet their child’s needs. Don’t tax it out of reach, support it so it’s available to more children. #EducationNotTax

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@Davidpr52119342 @balmer_tim @joerichlaw Err yes, CEA (like any other allowance) is increased annually to account for inflation (although the increases to CEA haven’t keep up with inflation). This normal annual adjustment is irrelevant as it did not include any increase to account for the new taxation Labour imposed.

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@dshensmith @dshensmith Does treating two military groups differently (ie taxing one & exempting the other) on the basis of their nationality constitute discrimination?

US forces in the UK are only exempt VAT specific things. The UK Gov agreed to add education, thus granting an exemption.

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@joerichlaw Hmmm, treating two similar groups of people differently (by taxing one and exempting the other) on the basis of their nationality (nationality being a protected characteristic under the 2010 Equality Act). Smells a bit like a discrimination case…

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@CF_Farrow If the government has exempted one group of military people from this tax but not another on the basis of their nationality (which the 2010 Equality Act, Part 2, Chapter 1, Section 9 defines as a protected characteristic), does this constitute discrimination in a legal sense?

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@Davidpr52119342 @balmer_tim @joerichlaw This is not true. While CEA was increased, it was only increased by c14%, while the Gov applied 20% VAT and removed business rates relief from schools and increased employer NICs, all at the same time. This means service families are paying much more so the impact is not minimal!

[Joe Rich @joerichlaw]

BREAKING - Labour exempts children of American service personnel from VAT on independent school fees https://t.co/z9QxG0Xx0d

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@stone3Clare Eligibility is only partly about whether military families are based abroad. It’s mainly about how often they move, so whether the children would need to move schools in the middle of GCSE or A Level courses (or if younger move schools so often it damages their education).

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

US military families based in UK don’t pay tax on independent school fees but British military families do.

Military families must move regularly so lots rely on independent boarding schools for continuity.

Has Labour heard of the Armed Forces Covenant?

https://t.co/84LCkVmxNv

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@stone3Clare 4.d. If you don’t believe the MOD enforces its very tight rules on CEA or think that those of high rank are somehow allowed to abuse the system, read this article ⬇️ about a very senior Army officer who abused the system and was rightly jailed for it.

https://t.co/iUAeEEAB8I

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@stone3Clare 4.c. When the MOD moves the family to a difficult part of the country, the child has to remain at the boarding school they are at because the whole point of the allowance is to enable the child not to have to move schools when the MOD moves their family.

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@stone3Clare 4.b. Families don’t qualify if parents live apart. ie if one lives in a permanent home somewhere and so doesn’t move when the MOD moves the other parent. This is because the child can avoid moving schools without CEA by going to school near the non-moving parent’s permanent home.

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@stone3Clare 3. It doesn’t matter if the school is close to where the parents live right now as it certainly won’t be close to wherever the MOD requires them to move next. CEA allows and requires the child to stay at the same school (wherever that happens to be), when the family home moves.

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@PeterCClub Hmmm, I think I’ll give Peter the “Cannabis Connoisseur” a miss on principle. Blocked.

Needless to say, he is so far off the mark as to be effectively completely wrong. You can read about how the system he’s referring to actually works here ⬇️.

https://t.co/r87EONUUtC

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@TatesOofVlogsYt I agree. Hopefully Labour’s education tax will be struck down by in court very soon as a result of the ongoing legal challenges. The courts recently expedited these cases to give a legal ruling ASAP to limit the damage being done to kids’ education & prevent more school closures.

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

Perhaps the government should have noted this before they imposed tax on independent education. And no, despite @bphillipsonMP’s claims, the tax on independent education won’t make state schools better (the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies stated this very clearly).

[United Nations @UN]

Quality education is not a luxury —it is a human right.

On Friday's #EducationDay, learn about how the #GlobalGoals can help ensure inclusive, quality education for a better future for all: https://t.co/KnCtlYRijh

[Ed O'Brien @EdOBrien]

@factual1st @DrNShastriHurst Perhaps this will contribute to the weight of the ongoing legal challenges which the courts have expedited so they can rule on the legality of Labour’s school tax (& hopefully strike it down) before too much damage is caused to kids education and more schools are forced to close.